PIATT-L Archives
Archiver > PIATT > 2001-12 > 1009040670
From: "Amanda Kemen" <>
Subject: Re: [PIATT] re: Origins of the Piatt/Pyatt/Pyeatt surname
Date: Sat, 22 Dec 2001 12:15:56 -0500
References: <MFMBM0023ednHM3SOlb0000571f@mfmbm002.myfamilycorp.local>
Sharolynn,
Thanks so much for your reply. We are very lucky to have people like
yourself and Laverne to do this kind of research for us. I too believe the
origins to be of French descent, this is why I wanted to disqualify anything
about the Italian lineage. Of coarse we never know for sure but it is good
to see that there is lots and lots of documentation. I do have one question
though, where again did the Fleurry name come from? I have not done
extensive research yet, I've only been at it on an on and off again basis
for about 2 years, but I have not come across this name yet. Is it
interchangeable with the Piatt name or is it another branch of the family?
Thanks for your help,
Amanda
----- Original Message -----
From: <>
To: <>
Sent: Friday, December 21, 2001 3:42 PM
Subject: [PIATT] re: Origins of the Piatt/Pyatt/Pyeatt surname
> This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list.
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> Classification: Query
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> http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/Z.2ACBAEB/235
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> Message Board Post:
>
> I'm not sure that I'm the best person to respond to Amanda Kemen's query
regarding the origins of the Piatt/Pyatt/Pyeatt surname, but I will attempt
to respond. I'll ask in advance for your indulgence because I'm writing
some of this from memory and don't have all of the documentation in front of
me.
>
> In the past there has been some controversy among researchers regarding
the origins of the surname. Ravenscroft, in her book, claimed that the
surname was not French, but was originally of Scots origin and was spelled
PYOT. Orra Eugene Monnette, in his book, First settlers of ye plantations
of Piscataway and Woodbridge, olde East New Jersey, 1664-1714 (actually an
8-vol. set of books), states rather emphatically that the family is not of
Scots or English descent, but was French. Dick Piatt has written in the
past that he always believed that the family originated from Dauphine
Province in France (Grenoble was the provincial capital)-- which is in the
Alps near the Italian border between France and Italy. Larry Piatt
published an article in the Piatt newsletter indicating that "Rene" as a
given name appeared very little in Dauphine Province and postulated that
Rene may have originated from one of the northern provinces nearer to
Belgium where the given name was more commo!
> n.
>
> At this point, in my research, I believe that we are of French origin, but
that branches of the family do appear in the British Isles. As a
researcher, however, I try to be open-minded-- because I would hate to have
to eat crow when the truth finally surfaces. Here are some of the clues
I've come across:
>
> 1. Most of the Piatt/Pyatt/Pyeatt families in the U.S. tend to descend
from Rene Piatt/Pyatt. What his name truly was is somewhat a matter of
speculation, because it appears with so many variations in the records. In
some records, his name appears something like as "Fleurry (Renipiat)" with
the "Renepiat" or "Renipiat" always appears in parentheses. Among the
various aliases which Monnette lists are Rene Piatt, Rene Pyat, Rene Le
Fleur, Rene La Flower, Thomas Le Fleur, Thomas Piatt. There are also some
references in the early records to "Rene Fleurison," i.e., Fleury's son--
which may refer to either the original Rene or to his son Rene [Jr.].
>
> 2. According to the denization, i.e., naturalization, records, we know
that Rene was "alien borne" and granted British citizenship in London in
1685. His name appears in the document as Rene Fleury, and shortly
thereafter, there appear a Peter Fleurison (i.e., Fleury's son) and a Daniel
Fleurian (relatives perhaps?). It also appears that he acquired the land he
settled on in New Jersey while still in London. Based on what I know
(others may have more information), we don't know where or when he was born.
>
> 2. Among the surnames listed in the master index for the proceedings of
the Huguenot Society of Great Britain & Ireland are: Pyot, Pygett, Fleury,
Fleurie, Flory, Floreay, Florison, La Fleur. Huguenot was the name
associated with the French Protestant movement-- which would lead me to
believe that the family was definitely of French origin. Even so, there may
be descendents of these French families living in the British Isles today
who may have forgotten their French origins.
>
> 3. Rene's son, John, is sometimes referred to in the early New Jersey
records as "John of France," which has lead some to believe that John was
born in France, but Laverne Piatt this summer postulated that it may have
been because the Piatt sons and their families were living in a Dutch
community in New Jersey-- and the early settlers wanted to clarify that John
was of French and not Dutch descent. In the 6-Mile Run (now Franklin Park,
NJ) church records that I researched, the surname appeared with any number
of creative spellings, e.g. PIJATT, PEYATT, PJAT, etc. because the minister
was Dutch-- hence the Dutch/Germanic variant spellings which were
phonetically based.
>
> 4. This fall I looked around a bit for the Piatt/Fleury surnames in books
about the Huguenots. I was able to document both surnames in books about
the Huguenots in Dauphine Province. Antoine Piat was listed among the
individuals who protested a decision made by the king in 1561. David &
Daniel Du Piotay (which may or may not have relation with the Piat surname)
were listed as natives of Lyon & were protestant ministers. Sebastien
Fleury also appears in the mid-16th century records, also as a minister in
Dauphine Province. This information came from a 3-vol. work by E. Arnaud,
entitled "Histoire des protestants du Dauphine aux XVIe, XVIIe et XVIIIe
siecles."
>
> There was a lot of religious and political strife in the mid-1500's and
the protestants were sometimes promised royal tolerance and at other times,
they were severely persecuted. One of the books I consulted indicated that
the Fleury's left Dauphine Province for the Netherlands somewhere around the
1560's where there was greater religious tolerance.
>
> 5. G. Elmore Reaman's book, The trail of the Huguenots in Europe, the
United States, South Africa, and Canada (originally published Toronto, 1963;
reprinted by the Genealogical Publishing Co., Baltimore, in 1986), has this
to about the Fleury surname:
>
> "The Fleury's were descended from the French nobility shortly before the
Revocation. Louis Fleury, the Protestant pastor of Tours, fled with his wife
Esther, his son born 1671, and his two daughters to England where they were
naturalized in 1679. He came to Ireland as one of the private chaplains of
William of Orange and was present at the battle of the Boyne." (p. 99).
This same book indicates that the Fleury family also settled in New Jersey
(p. 134), but it's just a listing of surnames.
>
> There appear to have been several Fleury descendents who were pastors or
ministers, and I remember coming across a reference to one minister who
migrated in Scotland and had children there-- but again, was of French
descent by way of the Netherlands.
>
> I think you can see why I still believe that the family was French. The
proximity of Dauphine Province to the Italian border is about as close to an
Italian link as I can come at this point in time. Seeds from the original
French family tree appear to have been planted, however temporarily in both
the Netherlands and the British Isles; some may have stuck around long
enough to take root. Other's may have stayed for a generation or so and
then moved on. There are lots of interesting avenues yet to be thoroughly
researched and documented.
>
> I hope this helps!
>
> Sharolynn Pyeatt
>
>
>
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